


Lanterns

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Yugioh Advent 2018 [18]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fae, Childhood Friends, Dancing, Fae & Fairies, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Name Changes, Names, yugioh advent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 19:23:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17065622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: It started when he was ten-years-old, when he met a faery in the yardOr: Five times faery!Atem asked Yugi to come live in the faery realm with him, and one time Yugi actually said yes





	Lanterns

**Author's Note:**

> Day 18 of Yugioh Advent 2018- "Adventure"
> 
> This lovely peice https://thepharaohisdead-longlivetheking.tumblr.com/post/173444016647/yugi-is-my-curse-%E0%B2%A5-%E0%B2%A5-i-dont-even inspired the part about Atem setting someone on fire

**I.**

They first meet when Yugi is ten-years-old

He remembers wandering further and further into the garden than ever before

He finds himself staring down at a circle of mushrooms, amazed by the perfect roundness of it, when he glances up and comes face to face with a beautifull stranger

The creature is roughly his age, and looks remarkably similar to himself, but with darker skin, and red eyes, and red highlights in his hair rather than violet

And.... wings....

Giant, beautifull wings, fanned out from his back, like a - ...

" _Faery...._ "

The creature smiled- no, _beamed_ , bright-eyed and seemingly enthralled, fluttering off of the ground so that his feet no longer touched the grass

"Yes!!" he cried

"Would you like to play with me?"

Well.... Yugi knew he shouldn't talk to strangers, but how many times would he really get the chance to talk to play with a _faery_?

So, shyly, he nodded, grinning as he waited for the faery to leave the circle

But he didn't

Instead he reached out, attempting to drag Yugi into the circle instead of the other way around

"Yes yes!! Let's go to my realm and play!" he called excitedly

Yugi, however, began to panic

He screamed and jerked his hand away, called for his grandfather, and ran away, leaving the faery rather sad looking as he slowly fluttered back down to the ground, wondering what he had done wrong

 

**II.**

The next time Yugi saw the faery was a year later

He was sitting outside in his mother's garden, waiting for her to finish planting some flowers

He was so sleepy.... he had been up late and now he was bored, wich made the sleepiness catch up with him feircely

He couldn't wait to get out of here and head to the beach so he could get out of this terrible almost-sleep sensation

But as he was waiting for such a thing, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, turning around and letting out a loud gasp as he spotted the faery from a year ago standing behind him

The faery put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, looking down and starting to wring his hands

"I.... wish to apologize.... I did not mean to frighten you...."

Oh.....

Now Yugi felt a little bit bad for how he had reacted

"I-It's ok...." he mumbled quietly

"I just... well.... learning to be in your world... it's difficult for my kind, that is why it's taken me so long to come here and apologize to you to begin with, I .. did not know until recently how to appear here without a faery ring, I did not mean to frighten you, I just... wanted a freind to play with,"

"I-I understand..." Yugi said softly

And honestly he did

Yugi himself didn't have many- ~~any~~ \- freinds...

He wondered if this strange creature got as lonely as he did...

If so, that must be a very difficult existence indeed

"I'm sorry, I know how you feel, do you want to be freinds?"

That certainly brightened the faery up, a bright smile crossing his face again as he lunged forward and gave Yugi a tight hug

"Yes! Freinds!! Will you come to play with me then, Freind?"

"Still no, you can stay right here where I won't get lost or eaten or something," he pouted

His grandfather knew all about faeries, Yugi knew very well not to tempt them

"Eaten...?" the faery asked in confusion, slowly tilting his head

"My name is Yugi, by the way," he said suddenly, holding his hand out when the faery finally let go of him

The faery seemed a little confused by this, seemingly not sure what to do at first, his eyes pinned to the ground

"I... am not supposed to give out my real name to humans..."

Oh

That was a weird rule, but ok, Yugi could still work with that

"Ok, then it doesn't have to be your real name, what would you like me to call you?"

The faery thought about that for a long moment, tapping his chin, before smiling shyly at Yugi again

"How about..... Yami?"

"Ok then, it's nice to meet you, Yami,"

 

**III.**

That had been the beginning of a beautifull freindship

From that moment on, a week didn't go by when Yami didn't come to visit Yugi....

And rarely as long passed without him asking Yugi to come to the faery realm with him

Yugi always declined, but he had to admit that sometimes, it was rather tempting to think of going with him

"Explain to me why you do not wish to come with me?"

They were fourteen now, and Yugi was... _tired_

Tired of people, tired of humans, tired of this world

He was alone and lonely, with no freinds at school, constantly bullied, always struggling with his grades despite being incredibly smart, and his home life....

Things weren't _bad_ but they weren't great either

"Because I have to stay here, I have to take care of my grandpa, and my mom, I mean I just ... I can't just up and leave.... and I need to finish school..."

"Ew, why?"

"Because I need to be able to get a good job?" Yugi sighed tiredly, resting his head on his pillow

"In my realm you would not have to worry about such things," Yami commented quietly, moving to slowly sit down on the edge of Yugi's bed

"Well I do here," the human replied quietly

Yami bit his lip, his head lowered, thinking for a few moments, before beginning to smile

He stood up suddenly, snapping his fingers as the CD player suddenly turned on, making Yugi raise an eyebrow as he slowly lifted his head away from the pillow, still looking exhausted

"Yami... I don't want to listen to music right now ok? I know it's like... an energy drink for faeries or something but ... I'm tired, I just want to sleep,"

"Oh, but we are not JUST listening to music," Yami insisted, fluttering upwards and stepping delicately onto the bed, a bright grin on his face as he reached down and took Yugi's hands in his own

"Music is not an 'energy drink' for faeries, it's more like.... medicine, you do not feel well, so allow me to give you some medicine,"

"... Ok that sounds SUPER weird, just so you know,"

But he doubted Yami would care

Yami never cared about that sort of thing, something sounding or being weird

Yami was himself, through and through, and everyone else could go to hell

He admired that about him greatly

"Explain what we're doing again?" Yugi sighed as Yami started to adjust their positions, holding both of Yugi's hands and starting to sway his hips

"Dancing, another type of fae-folk medicine," he promised with a bright grin

Yugi doubted it would help, he really did, but.... for his freind's sake, he was going to try

He found himself swaying quietly to the music, and as the tempo started to pick up, Yami began to flutter, his wings creating something of a breeze as the two of them danced around on the bed, gaining in momentum and joy with each step

Yugi soon found himself.... laughing, laughing and smiling, and for a moment, as he danced on top of his bed with Yami, he forgot what he had been so upset about in the first place

 

**IIII.**

"I cannot believe you set that guy on fire...."

"He punched you Yugi," Yami said with a pout, tilting his head to the side, as if lighting someone on fire was the perfectly natural response to your freind being punched in the face

"So? You can't just set people on FIRE!"

"But.... he hurt you, so I had to hurt him back,"

The way Yami was staring at him was the equivalent to how he stared at his math teacher

It was honest confusion, and a bit of disbeleif, as if he was surprised that this wasn't just the usual course of action for people or something

And just as Yugi was about to start scolding him again, he simmered down, remembering what his grandfather had always said about faeries

_"There's no better ally to have in war than a faery, their sense of morality is quite a bit different from our's, they believe strongly in the 'eye for an eye' concept, although for faeries it's a little more like 'LUNG for an eye'! They believe in not only getting even, but in doing one better to the person who had harmed them to prevent them from ever being harmed again, it's just their way, it can't be changed or tampered with any more than the stripes on a zebra can be,"_

Ah....

Yami really _didn't_ understand why Yugi was upset with him....

He heaved a sigh, shoulders sagging, and reached out for his freind's hand, giving it a small squeeze

He was almost sixteen now, and things were changing, he could feel it in his bones

The difference was, he didn't quite know why

Things seemed to be getting worse though, as he grew older

The bullies more relentless, the tests at school more confusing, the prospect of getting a job and being an adult and being in college and- .... ugh......

"Yugi?"

He glanced up, smiling softly at Yami and giving his hand a small squeeze

"I'm sorry for being upset, it's just...-"

"I know, you are a deer-hearted person, I understand,"

"Deer-hearted?" Yugi asked in confusion, now it was _his_ turn to look up at his freind like a confused pug

"Yes, you have the heart of a deer, you believe so strongly in compassion and forgiveness that it ultimately hurts you in the end, you would rather forgive someone for harming you than enact the revenge that is rightfully your's, like a little deer, you're soft and sweet,"

"Ahh.... that's really not what I was going to say...."

"It isn't your fault, deer-hearted ones are precious and rare, they must be protected and cared for at all costs, that's what I'm here for," he promised, suddenly wrapping his arms tightly around Yugi and giving him a big bear hug

"Oh? You're my protector huh? Well that makes sense," Yugi laughed adoringly

"Yes, and you know, I could do my protecting alot easier from my realm...."

"Yami, we've talked about this," Yugi sighed quietly, turning in his freind's arms and staring up at him tiredly

"But Yugi, think of it as an adventure! You told me your grandfather was an adventurer,"

"Yes but... but he adventured in archeology, he went to visit places like Egypt and Peru, places that were, you know, only a phone call away?"

"I thought you said they didn't have phones back then?" Yami pouted in confusion

....

Yugi wasn't even going to address that right now

"Yami, you're my favorite person, I love you, and I'm sure I would love your world and all it has to offer, but... I can't leave my mom and grandpa, you know that,"

He had come off of the school thing, it was becoming more and more obvious that he wasn't going to be getting very far as a career man, so he may as well concentrate on family instead

Yami hung his head, like a rejected puppy, and Yugi's heart ached

He forced a smile though, gently cupping his freind's face and stroking his thumb against his cheek

"Hey, let's go get some ice cream hm? New flavors down at Ice Town,"

Yami smiled weakly, nodding and allowing Yugi to pull him along

He wouldn't give up though

He would never give up

 

**V.**

At seventeen, Yugi's mother left

She didn't... _leave_ leave

It wasn't as though she just ran out unannounced but....

It was sudden

She had gotten a job opportunity in France and had decided to take it, "letting" Yugi stay in Japan with his grandfather, his studies, and his "freinds"

Yugi hadn't had the heart to correct her to "freind"

It wasn't that he was angry with her for leaving, she left on good terms, but ...

It hurt

It just.... _hurt_

All of it did, and he felt more alone than ever

When Atem came to visit that afternoon, his wing curled at the amount of sadness and negativity in Yugi's room

"..... Yugi?" the faery asked quietly

But his freind didn't move, he was curled up in bed, facing the wall, trying not to cry his eyes out, and answering Yami would be a sure way of having a break down

The faery bit his lip, looking down and fiddling a little with his fingers

"I .... heard what happened..."

Sometimes Atem had the power of clairvoyance, he still hadn't fully explained any of that to Yugi but the mortal was hardly surprised by any sort of psychic power at this point

"I am ... I am so very sorry," he said quietly, crossing the room and moving to sit on the edge of the bed

Yugi still had his back to him, it wasn't out of anger or anything, it was just... his way of trying to be alone

Silently, Yami crawled into bed next to him and reached out, gently tugging Yugi closer and allowing the human to lay his head on his lover's chest, slowly starting to rub his back

As soon as he was settled there, Yugi broke down crying

He sobbed and sobbed, fisting his hands in Yami's shirt to keep himself anchored to the world around him as he cried into his freind's clothes, the faery still rubbing his back, squeezing him here and there as he did so, stroking his hair whenever he could

All was quiet, except for the sound of Yugi's cries, and Yami decided not to ask this time if Yugi wanted to go back to his realm with him

In all truth, even if Yugi said yes this time, Yami wasn't sure if it would be the best idea

 

**I.**

Things changed when Yugi turned eighteen

His mother kept in contact with him but it wasn't as frequently as he had hoped

He still didn't really have any other freinds and the bullying problem hadn't improved

He was still struggling with grades and doubted there was a good college that would take him in with mediocre grades and mediocre money

Things, in those regards, really hadn't improved

But those weren't the only facets to his life

Somewhere a few months ago things with Atem had gotten better, improved, shifted, and the faery was no longer just his freind

"You're sure this is ok Grandpa?"

"Go on go on, you're young, Yugi, you need to go out and have an adventure! Besides, that boyfreind of your's seems awfully keen settle down with you, I wouldn't let him out of my sights if I were you,"

Yugi chuckled softly, adjusting his bad over his shoulder and reaching out to give his grandpa a tight hug

"I'm going to miss you Gramps.... I'll be back though, I'll come back and visit once a week, I promise," he smiled

"I know, I know.... now go on and have a good time ok?" the older man smiled back, waving as he watched his grandson sprint away from the gaming shop, taking the hand of the beautifull faery standing next to him and smiling up at him

"Oh, by the way Yugi, there's something I wish to tell you,"

"Hm?"

"Well.... you are giving alot of trust to me by coming with me to my realm, I figure it's time I give you just as much of my own trust so....... Atem, my true name is Atem,"

Just hearing at name made Yugi's heart flutter, a smile on his face as he leaned up to kiss Atem on the cheek

"Atem.... I like that name, well then, come on _Atem_ , adventure awaits,"

The faery smiled more, his wings fluttering as they began walking into the large faery ring before them

"Yes," he agreed, squeezing his partner's hand

"I believe it does,"


End file.
